Kidney Quest: Save the Urine

Hood Milk Bottle
Not a big enough bottle for the 24 hour urine test

Sunday, October 12, 2003, the day before the barrage of testing, I began the dreaded twenty-four hour urine collection.

Why must we collect a full day’s worth?

This test is a more accurate measure of creatinine levels. Since creatinine is a muscle by-product, the more muscle one has, the more creatinine she produces. So weightlifters generally have high levels and babies have low ones.

That’s the scientific end of the story. However, consider the logistics.

Mount Sinai mailed me a jug. It looked like a plastic half-gallon milk container. The opening was  about four inches in diameter. Have you, as a female, ever tried to pee in a milk bottle? (and I hope you males don’t do it regularly).

Logistics:

  1. How do you aim and get the pee into the bottle and not on your hands?
  2. How do you hold a milk bottle under you and still fit over the toilet?
  3. How do you go out anywhere, drink lots of coffee and not use the ladies’ room?
  4. How do you refrigerate it? Yes, you heard me right. The whole kit and kaboodle has to be refrigerated. (What if someone mistook it for apple juice?)
  5. How do you fit a day’s worth of urine in a half gallon jug?

Now isn’t this juicy info for a blog? Tune in this weekend for the answers.

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No Comments

  1. LOL. Hope to see you when you're up here.

  2. Lol, does sound complicated! Guys have it so easy. Have bottle will travel…;)

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